Impossible
by blackbirdxsinging
Summary: When Elizabeth Parker, a workaholic clean freak is fired, her best friend thinks its best she finds a man and a new apartment to start a new life. When she meets Max, she realizes that her new life is going to be a lot harder then any work shes done befor
1. Chapter 1

Do you consider yourself a generally stressed out person

_Do you consider yourself a generally stressed out person?_

No.

_How many hours a day do you spend at work?_

About twelve. Usually more.

_How often do you eat a home cooked meal?_

Ugh, I don't understand why these questions are such a big deal. Honestly, why does it matter if I have home cooked meals? They're overrated. Besides, the Chinese live much longer then we do, so I can only benefit from eating their food every night, right?

_Do you have eight glasses of water every day?_

Yes.

Sometimes.

No.

I wind up my watch impatiently. "Excuse me, are these questions really necessary?"

"We just want an idea on the life that you are living. How stressed you are."

I quickly fill out the rest of the questions without paying much attention to them. I thrust them at the lady and she reads over them carefully and slowly, like she has all the time in the world. Doesn't she know that some people have places to be?

"It seems as though you are a very… stressed person."

I groan loudly. "For the love of god, I am _not _stressed!"

She raises an eyebrow. "I am going to help you relax, Elizabeth. Just, relax."

She presses a button on a tiny cassette player and a mixture between panpipes and sitars blares out of them.

"You're under a lot of pressure, Elizabeth… Am I correct?"

I roll my eyes. "I thrive under pressure." I check my watch. 9:48 AM.

"You can take that off, Elizabeth."

I sit up on the padded table I am lying on. "Excuse me?"

"Your watch. You don't need it here."

I laugh a bit. "No, I really need to know the time."

"Elizabeth," She says sternly. "Look around. There are no clocks. You do not need to know the time."

I look around the tiny room. It's dimly lit and is scented with incense. I don't understand why my best friend and work manager, Loretta, would send me here to relax. I couldn't even think clearly, the incense was giving me a horrible migraine.

I reluctantly take off my watch and she takes it away.

"It needs to be winded." I complain. She ignores me.

"I'm going to rub your feet, okay? You need to clear your mind, okay?" I fee

I feel the cool lotion pour on my feet and desperately try to relax. Even though I didn't understand why… I was perfectly fine.

I close my eyes for a while… _Clear your mind…_

My eyes flew open. I had almost forgotten my lunch plans with my boss to discuss my new position as partner!

Of course it was only ten o clock… Probably. I didn't have my watch. But I was always early. It was my trademark appearance! I needed to call Loretta, who also happened to be my work manager, to call the restaurant I reserved, to set my lunch fifteen minutes later, just in case. If my boss showed on time, he would think he was early, or if I was already there, it would leave a great impression! Yes! It was a perfect plan.

"Excuse me; I need to use your phone for a moment please." I said, eager to speak to Loretta.

She stood up slowly. "I can't allow you to do that, Elizabeth."

"What??" I exclaimed, desperately. "Come on… Patty."

"Pam."

"Pam!" I quickly corrected. "It's business."

"Is that not why you came here? To avoid business altogether?"

I sigh. "Look, Pam. I know that I came here to be relaxed, but this is an emergency. You've probably never worked in a hospital, you wouldn't understand. Not everyone can have… hippie-dippy jobs like yourself. This session is taking longer than I expected…"

"You've only been here ten minutes." She interrupts.

"And I need to make a call." I say sternly. "Okay Pocahontas?"

**you.could.say.she.was.attractively.built**

I never got to finish that session. I did, however, get to use the phone, which was on Pam's secretary's desk. I paced back and forth, occasionally winding my watch, talking very monotone to Loretta.

"Loretta, come on. Just call them. I swear, I need the fifteen minutes." The secretary watched me pace angrily across the room. "Pay them! I need more time!" I was getting slightly annoyed at two things, one, Loretta refused to call the restaurant without a better reason, and two… the secretary wouldn't stop watching me. "Hold on a second, Loretta." I hold the phone under my ear. "Excuse me, can I help you?"

She blushed and looked down. "No, sorry."

I give her a look, and then quickly dismiss my call with Loretta.

I sit on a chair next to her desk. "Uh hi… Mrs Feeny."

"Lucy." She corrects, and then hides the brass nameplate that I read it off of.

"Lucy. Look, Lucy, is my hair okay?"

She perks up at the question. "Sorry, what?"

"My hair is it okay?"

She shrugs. "Yeah, it's fine."

I groan. "Fine is not good enough! I need to get a job as partner, and I need to be looking _beyond _fine!"

"You look great!" Lucy exclaims, obviously slightly annoyed.

"Great. I sigh. I shake my head. "I love my job,. But I hate these things that people do to help me relax. Honestly, I'm not stressed!

Lucy chews on her lip/ "Are you sure? Because you certainly seem stressed."

I give her a cold glare.

"Sorry." She scribbles something down. "I know you aren't stressed, okay? But when you get that new position…which I know you will… here's the number you call to celebrate, okay?"

I take the paper. "Uh, thanks. Is this a therapist or something?"

She laughs. "No, it's my brother. He helps… relax, you know?"

I stuff the number in my pocket. "I don't know if you are planning to arrange a one night stand, but if you are, I'll let you know that I am not really into that kind of thing. But thanks, it's the best suggestion yet."

**still.you.dont.regret.a.single.day**

I straightened out my dress pants and adjusted the forks on the other side of the table. Everything was perfect. I checked my watch. 11:30. Still one hour and thirty minutes to go. I smiled and sat up straight, hoping the waiter would note my business like appearance and pass it on to my boss.

My only wake up call was one of the waiters tapping me on the shoulder.

I smiled broadly. "Yes?"

"You have a phone call, Miss Parker."

I bite my lip. The only person who would know the number to this place was Loretta.

I followed him to the front desk and picked up the phone.

"Elizabeth Parker." I answer.

"Elizabeth, Jim called." Shit, it was Loretta. Jim's my boss.

"Yes, what did he say?"

"He cancelled lunch. He cant make it."

My stomach sank. "Did he say why?" I asked, my throat dry.

"He said he's busy."

I closed my eyes.

"Elizabeth, don't let it get to you, alright? He's a very busy man."

I sighed. "I know.. I wont."

"Are you okay?"

I swallow the feeling that made me want to throw up. "Yeah."

"Because there's more."

I open my eyes. I don't know if I should ask. "Good or bad?"

"I don't know… maybe…"

"Don't beat around the bush, Loretta."

"He's putting up more people for the job."

I let out a gasp. "Oh my god, WHAT?? I worked so hard for that job!! Who??"

"I don't know if I should tell you, you might kill her or something…"

"WHO IS UP FOR THE JOB??"

"Phyl!!" She screamed back.

"Phyl?" I repeat, feeling like I had to throw up again. "From floor three?"

"Look Elizabeth, don't worry about it. You can get the job, no problem.

"Ugh, I cant believe Jim!! Double crossing, pig face, idiot… Moron!"

And I turned around to see the worst face I could ever possibly see…

Jim.

**i.get.by…**

I drop the cardboard box on Loretta's desk.

"Fired."

Loretta gave me the most passionate look she could manage. "Oh, Elizabeth."

I collapse in a chair beside her. "It was horrible. He completely ignored the fact that I've been giving him everything since I was there, and he fired me because… because I couldn't respect him as a human being."

"Oh, I know Elizabeth, he's horrible."

"I love my job. Everyone knows it. I tell everyone. 'Hey, I love my job!'" I sniff. The tears are rolling down my face. "You know what? I bet Phyl says a lot of bad things behind his back. But she's going to get my job!!"

"Well, you actually never got the job…" Loretta points out, and it only makes me wail louder. "Oh, Jesus Elizabeth." She snaps, annoyed.

I look up. "What?"

"You never cry. Not when your grandmother died, not when you went bankrupt, not for the war, and not at my daughter's Christmas play."

"That's because you're daughters play is full of shit! Donkey's don't sing!"

"_Everyone_ cried at my daughters Christmas play!  
She sighed. "Anyways, that's not the point. The point is, you never cry at anything. You loose your job and you're a freaking waterfall."

I sniff. "So?"

"So?" She laughs. "So do something! You have no job to go to tomorrow, you aren't married…" She nudges my shoulder. I smile. "Go, have fun."

**two.of.us.riding.nowhere**

"I've got a feelin', a feelin' deep inside, oh yeah." A girl with curly hair sang at the front.

I was sitting beside Loretta, straight in my chair. I sipped my bottle gingerly.

"Come on Elizabeth. Drink. Have fun."

I took a longer sip for her amusement.

She groaned. "Come on." I took another. "Elizabeth, like this…" She drank the entire bottle and slammed it on the table.

I laughed. "Okay." I chugged mine and slammed it down. I felt a bit light headed. "Now what?"

"Let's find us some boys to take home."

**you.and.me.chasin.paper**

The rest of the night was foggy. I remember getting a few more drinks, and then meeting a shaggy blonde. Apparently, him and I had a few more drinks before going to his house, which is where I am now.

"Oh my god…" I groan, rolling off the bed I was sleeping in.

I stood up, immediately alarmed.

_Where was I?_

Clothes were strewn everywhere. The plates and food were underneath clothes and socks, and the smell was horrible.

It was only then when I realized I wasn't wearing any clothes.\

I groaned loudly. I stood up, off the floor, and grabbed a dark blue robe off of the door handle.

I stumbled into the bathroom and quickly locked the door.

Considering how messy his bedroom was, his bathroom was really clean. There wasn't anything on the floor, and everything was sparkling around the sink. There were two tooth brushes and soap bars. I smiled and smelled the soap. Strawberries.

I turned on the shower, and the water sprayed out perfectly on my fragile body. I found some strawberry shampoo and washed my messy hair. I got out and wrapped my self in the blue robe. I opened the door and walked out.

There was a man about the age of me, I suspect, but he didn't look anything like the boy I had followed home.

He had dark, patted hair unlike… Max, that was it. Unlike Max's messy, greasy blonde mop.

"Uh, hi." I say, awkwardly. He looks up from the tale.

"Hi…" He says. "Who are you?"

I wince. "Elizabeth?" I say.

"Oh." He sees the bathrobe. "You and Max…"

I coughed, indicating that he was exactly right.

"You want some breakfast?"

I look at my wrist, and curse when I see that my watch is gone.

"No?" He suspects.

I'm about to tell him that I have to be heading to work soon, however the cold fact that well, IM FIRED comes back to me.

"Uh, well… I was just fired yesterday, so I don't have anywhere to be, but…"

"Great." Max says, and I turn around and see him, hair messed up and a sloppy grin on his face. He kisses me on the mouth, jabbing his tongue between my teeth. It was disgusting. It tasted like a mixture between… old beer and warm beef jerky blended together.

I try to hide my disgust as he walks past me and into the kitchen.

"I'll make pancakes." He decides.

**Maybe a bit slow, but there is more Max in the next few chapters. Anyone want to guess the song titles of the dividers? (:**


	2. Chapter 2

I sit next to the dark haired man and sit up straight

I sit next to the dark haired man and sit up straight.

He looks at me before bending over a drawing done in charcoal.

Max turns on the radio and blares out something that went out of style ten years ago.

I roll my eyes and consider complaining because my headache's only getting worse from the endless drawls of "My Peggy Sue."

I watch Max stir the batter in a questionably clean bowl and…ugh… stick his filthy fingers in, and _lick_ them.

I closed my eyes, pretending that I didn't just see that.

"Did you puke?" He asked.

They both turn to me for my response.

"Uh, no, I didn't."

"I did." He states proudly. "You know the best cure for hangovers?"

"Tea?" I suggest, thinking about how good a chamomile and blackberry blend would taste right now.

"Weed." I think he's joking, because I would never take home a druggie… err… a druggie, would never take _me_ home. I'm not _that_ insane.

"Excuse me?"

"Yeah." He takes something from under the kitchen sink and tosses it in the mix.

I wince, knowing that anything from under the sink was probably unsanitary, and knowing that it probably was a drug of some sort, most likely 'weed' as he put it.

He dumps the entire batter onto the frying pan and sits next to Jude and I.

"Whatcha drawin?" Max asks, and picks up a sliced apple and shoves it in his mouth.

"Uh, _that,_ actually."

He chews slower, sympathetically. "Oh." He says, his mouth full of chewed apple. "Here." He sticks out his tongue and I turn away, not wanting to see his saliva filled, partly chewed apple.

Jude laughs and shoves him away.

"Hey baby, you want some?" Max asks, and I realize he's talking to me.

That was it, I had had enough.

"I need to use the washroom." I excuse my self and half run to the bathroom with strawberry soap.

Max stops me. "Wait, uhhh…" He forgot my name. Moron.

"Elizabeth."

"Elizabeth! Right. That's Jude's and Lucy's bathroom. Mine's over to the right."

I feel bad because I had used their shower, but shrug as I walk over to the room Max said was his bathroom.

My mouth drops open first, and then I slam my hands over my mouth and nose because of the smell.

There was no mirror, at all. The sink was filled with tiny blonde hairs, and… shaving cream scum… EW, god!

There were used tissues on the counter and across the floor, and they were certainly not the colour they were supposed to be.

And the toilet… oh my god, the toilet… It was beyond disgusting. You would think the flusher was broken, or something. The sides were painted the colour of tea, darker around the edges. And Max's… disgusting… vomit was sitting in the middle. It made _me_ want to vomit.

I ran out, gasping for air. Max laughed.

"Oh yeah, sorry about that."

I used Jude and Lucy's bathroom without regret.

I was welcomed back to the table by Max cursing and hitting the frying pan on the counter, Jude laughing at him.

"You could have told me, jerk." He grunted, continuing to bang the pan on the counter.

"You're the one who said you could cook." He said between giggles.

I heard something like a rock hitting the counter, and then Max walked over to the table with three hockey pucks.

"Here you go." Max tosses me one and takes a bite out of his.

I look at it for a moment. Most of it is black, with some lighter brown around the inside. It has leaves, or what seemed like leaves, sticking out of it.

Then I realize two things, one, the leaves were hash. Two, I was expected to eat it.

This time, I really had enough.

"Okay, I have to go." I stand up.

"You don't want your pancake?"

I shake my head. "You know what? I don't."

"Okay, whatever." He reaches across the table and grabs mine and shoves it in his mouth. "They're really good."

I take one last look at him before walking to his bedroom to find my clothes.

**look.at.all.the.lonely.people**

"So you won't see him again?"

I shake my head. "Ugh, Loretta, he was a nightmare. It was a huge mistake."

She slams the door on the washing machine, the one with a dent and doesn't close properly unless you really slam it.

Compared to the rest of my life, that was a good day.

**you.say.yes.i.say.no.**

"Okay, listen." Loretta has her hands on my shoulders. "All they're looking for is someone who is hardworking and reliable. You're that, and more. You can do this."

I breathe in. "Okay, I can do this. I am Elizabeth Parker."

"That's it." She smiles. "Now go."

I walk into the interview room and sit down.

Two guys are grinning.

"Hi." I say, and their grins broaden.

"Hey, sit down." They pull up a chair. I sit down and fold a leg over top of the other one. "We have to ask you a question."

I look at both of them. "Okay..."

"Is it true that you're _the_ Elizabeth Parker, from Mastersons?"

I nod. "Yes."

"And you ere supposed to be partner, but you were fired, so they put Phyl up for the job?"

"Uh…" I sigh. "Yes."

They laugh.

This wasn't what I was expecting.

"Sorry, I don't get what's so funny."

"You didn't hear what happened to her?" One asks, and the other one laughs.

"No…" I trail off to their laughter.

"They almost let her operate, and she went insane."

"What?"

"You lost your job to someone who… isn't there." He waved his index finger around his head.

I look down. "Oh."

"Don't feel bad." One says.

"Yeah, you're amazing here. People always look to you when they need a giggle."

"Amazing enough to get a job?"

They laugh. I get the point and leave.

**bang.bang.shoot.shoot.**

So now I'm sitting at Loretta's desk as she shifts through my papers.

"Your bills are piling up, Elizabeth."

I sigh. "Have you told them to check my credit?"

"More than once. You can't stay in that apartment. If you're evicted, you'll never get a loan again."

I heave a frustrated sigh. "Loretta, as my best friend and work manager, what is your suggestion for now… until I get a job?"

She shrugs. "Get a cheaper apartment?"

**everywhere.knowing.that.love.**

I hold my hand on my mouth AS Loretta moves all of my things. I stand by the window.

I'm watching the waves crash up against the statue of Liberty and my heart aches. I close my eyes. I can't believe I'm being forced out of my own home. The apartment I had earned with my money, my effort, my education… _me…_ was gone.

"You okay?" I open my eyes to Loretta's voice and nod.

"Yeah, I'm fine." I lie.

"It's time to go."

**such.a.dirty.old.man.**

"Elizabeth, I got you a really nice place. It's a penthouse."

I hurry up beside her on the sidewalk and stride with confidence. My new life starts today.

She pushes open the door to a strangely familiar apartment, but I shrug it off and follow her.

As we're walking up the stairs, I can't help but notice that I had been there before. It was probably in a dream, or something. This was fate.

She knocked on the wooden door, and a tall woman with long curly hair answered the door.

"Hey there." She said, and I smiled.

"Hello. Elizabeth Parker." I stuck out my hand and she shook it, smiling.

"Come in, Elizabeth."

We walked into the living room, and I stopped. I looked around. My eyes were growing wider.

Loretta tapped me on the shoulder. "Elizabeth, what's wrong? Are you okay?"

I looked over at the kitchen. There were charcoal drawings everywhere. _No…_

My breathing increased majorly as we walked down the hall and I saw the bathroom with the strawberry shampoo… and then…

"This is Max's bathroom." She pointed at a closed door. "You'll have to share it with him."

_No, no, no, no!!_

I covered my face. "Loretta, I need to talk to you."

We walked into the living room and I talked in a hiss. "Loretta, what the hell were you thinking?"

She looked at me, confused. "Elizabeth, I thought you would like it. It's a spacious apartment, and you only have to share it with a few people…"

"A few people—Loretta, this is _Max's_ apartment!"

She looked at me for a moment, and then asked, "_The_ Max?"

I looked around quickly. "Yes! _The_ Max! Ugh, Loretta!"

"Is everything okay?" The tall lady asked.

"Actually, I don't think that I can--"

"Yes, everything's fine." Loretta interrupted. She pulled me aside again and talked in a whisper. "Listen, Elizabeth. You have to get a hold on yourself, okay? This was the best thing that you can get, and it's the best that you'll ever get. He probably won't remember who you are. It was a one night stand. Just avoid him."

"You don't understand Loretta, he is a pig!" I hiss back.

"It doesn't matter!" She hissed back. "You have no money, Elizabeth. When you had a job, you could get anything. Now that you're job is gone, you're _drowning._ You cannot have a choice, anymore, Elizabeth. This is it."

I pressed my fingers on my temples. "Loretta…" I whispered. "I would rather be living in a box then here. Mice and cigarette butts are cleaner than him."

She put two steady hands on my shoulders. "Listen to me. You can do this. You've made it through everything else, right?"

I shrug and look at the floor.

"Who are you?" She asked, smiling.

I sigh. "Elizabeth." I respond flatly.

"Who are you?" She asks again.

"I am Elizabeth Parker." I said stronger, and she patted my shoulders.

"Good. Call me if anything happens, okay?"

I nod, and she leaves.

The door swings shut, and then opens again.

"You ready to meet your new flat mates?" She asks, and I am ready to yell NO in her face.

**These are really long chapters, I apologize… Hopefully the next one isn't as long.**

**Peace and Love:**

**-Missy**


	3. Chapter 3

Max walks in, and sits on the couch

Max walks in, and sits on the couch.

"Sadie, grab me a beer, will you?"

She laughs. "Get your own lazy ass a beer."

Max groans and rolls off the couch. He stops when he sees me.

"What's she doing here?"

"She's your new flat mate. Max, meet Elizabeth. Elizabeth, meet Max."

We stood in the living room, staring at each other. His hair was greasy and messed up on top of his head, and mine was combed neatly into a ponytail.

Jude walks in after him, and stares at Max. He waves a hand in front of his eyes.

Max looks away and clears his throat. "Well, Elizabeth, welcome to my flat." He says finally, and then pushes past everyone into the kitchen.

Jude scoffs. "_Your _flat?" And then he notices me. He stares for a moment, and then follows Max into the kitchen.

Sadie smiles. "Your room is next to Max's… It's down the hall to the left."

I give a weak smile back and then walk into the room that I was assigned.

I look around. It's quite clean, for the exception of the window that led out to the roof. It was filthy. And the room itself was tiny. I wanted to be in my own home, sitting on my own couch, looking out on my own view.

I was filled with instant homesickness and sat on the bed, looking at my feet. It wasn't long before I burst into tears.

**if.i.love.you.too.**

I came out of my room at about two in the afternoon. I walked out into the living room and looked around. Jude was sitting at the table, drawing something, as usual.

"Where is everybody?" I ask quietly.

He looks up, and then focuses on his page again. "Work."

I look down. "Oh." I felt kind of embarrassed that I didn't have a job to do. "Don't you have work?"

He nodded. "This."

"Oh." I look away. "I was never really artistic." I sighed. "I mean, I went to galleries…"

"Did you?" He perks up and turns around. "Which one? One of my pieces was featured in a gallery once."

I blush. "Well, I haven't actually been to a gallery." He goes back to his art. "I mean, I've been meaning to, I just hadn't found the time."

"What was taking up all your time?"

I sighed. "Work."

He nods. "How long have you been away from work?"

"Three months." I responded faintly. I missed my job so, so much.

"Three months." He repeated. "And you were at work a lot, right?"

I nodded. "26 hours sometimes."

He looked at me again. "Twenty-six?"

I smiled and nodded. "Yeah."

He turned back around. "You must not know what to do with yourself, now that you have nothing to do."

I shrug. "Well… yeah. I went out partying once… _once._ The first time ever." I laughed. "I don't think I'm ever going out again."

"Because you met Max."

I shuddered. "How can you stand him? He's like a pig inside your house!"

Jude smiled. "I don't know. We're best friends."

"Don't you ever get… sick of him, or something? Like, don't you ever tell him to rinse the sink when he shaves, or put a mirror up so he can stop making that… disgusting facial hair?"

He laughed. "Yeah, sometimes. You met him with the… err…" He put his finger under his nose, like a moustache. "The walrus thing going on?"

I giggled. "Yeah, that."

Jude smiled. "Well, he's getting better. He shaved it off, didn't he? Besides, I'm in love with his sister."

"Sister? Lucy? Is that her name?" I remembered Max saying that I used Lucy's shower.

He lit up at her name and nodded. "Yeah, that's her."

"I think I used her shampoo." I said quietly, and he laughed a bit.

"Yeah? You used our shower that morning, didn't you?"

I blushed a bit. "Yeah."

"She didn't mind. She wanted you to meet her brother, anyways."

I stop for a moment. "What?" I didn't recall knowing her before Max. I don't even recall meeting her.

"Yeah, she's the secretary at… uh… you know the organics place, with the…"

"Oh."

"Yeah."

Lucy, the girl I had met at the counter, was the sister of Max, who I had slept with, who was the best friend of Jude, who loved Lucy!

Damn, I'm good.

"I'm such an idiot; I didn't even piece it together." I said, and laughed a tiny bit. "Where was she when I was over here before?"

"Canada. Revolutionary trip."

"Oh." I looked around. "You two are married?"

He smiled. "Yeah. Just recently."

"I didn't see a ring on her finger."

"She thinks it's stupid to wear rings." He says sadly. "I think it's symbolic." He shows me his wedding finger, and the most beautiful gold ring sparkles back at me. "I wear mine, even though she doesn't wear hers."

I love talking to Jude, even though we talk about nothing… and everything, but I was really hungry so I start raiding the cupboards.

"What do you have to eat in this house?" I question, pulling out box after box of Captain Crunch.

"That." He nods his head over to the cereal. "And… hm… I think there will be some fruit in the fridge."

I open the fridge and pull out an apple. "Could I eat this?"

He nods.

"Max hasn't… hidden anything inside of it, or something?"

He laughs and shakes his head.

"Okay." I rinse it off and bite into it. I sit down in the chair next to Jude.

He looks over. "Why do you always sit like that?"

"What?"

"Up straight?"

I shrug. "I don't know. Used to it, I guess." I take another bite.

He goes to his art.

The door swings open. "Fucking hell." Curses Max, a voice I had learned already.

"What now?" Jude asked, turning away from his art.

"They fucking fired me, the fucking…" He notices me sitting on the chair, and then shuts up.

"They _fired_ you?" Jude asked, bewildered.

He nodded. "That's right."

He storms into the kitchen and rips open a cupboard.

"Why?"

"They found it."

Jude gapes. "Found what, the… the _pot?_ You brought _pot_ to work?"

Max rolls his eyes. "You make it sound like such a big deal. You smoke a joint or two at work."

Jude looks over at me, but I'm too tired to care, so he looks back at Max. "I'm not driving people around, you're a cabbie."

"Well I don't actually smoke it when I'm driving, just when I have a spare moment to myself."

Jude gaped some more.

"Well I'm fired, aren't I?"

I took another bite of my apple, chewing slower then usual.

Max looks at me. "Sadie told me that she wants the money."

I raise an eyebrow. "What?"

"The money. You _are_ renting her apartment. She wants it two weeks in advance."

My cheered up face melts and I look at him, devastated.

He smiles. "Looks like I'm not the only one without money."

Sadie yawns and walks out of her room. "Sadie, I need to beg of you a favor."

She looks at me. "What is it?"

"I need a few more weeks extension for my payment. Please."

She stares for a bit. "Elizabeth, I can't really pull any strokes right now…"

"Please, Sadie, I beg of you."

She looks at me for a few more moments. "I suppose I could give you a week's extension…"

"Thank you." I breathe.

"If," I get ready for it. "You clean up Max's part of the house for my after party. And put all the breakable stuff away."

My face turns a mix of _thank you _and _please, no._

Max snickers under his breath and I shoot a glare at him. I put my apple core in the garbage and rinse my hands.

"Okay." I say, accepting the challenge. I smile sweetly at Max, and then walk into his room.


	4. Chapter 4

Max follows me into his room and leans on the doorframe

Max follows me into his room and leans on the doorframe.

"What are _you_ doing here?" I ask coldly.

"Well, it's my room, isn't it? And besides, I want to make sure that you don't break anything."

"Like what?" I question, and step over all of his clothes.

"I don't know."

I walk up to the bed and cover my nose. "Oh, God, what _is_ that??"

He shrugs and hops over the clothes to his bed. "Me." I pull back the sheets. "And… some… other people…"

I close my eyes. "Eugh!!" I exclaim, and then cover my nose and run out.

"Hey, you arent done here." He says, laughing.

I go to the kitchen and return with salad tongs.

"I'm going to have to pay for these when I'm done…" I mutter, plugging my nose.

I use the tongs to pull the comforter off the bed, and stare in horror at all the crap underneath it.

"Eww!!" I shriek, and Max plugs his ears.

His, and as he said, some other peoples underwear was strewn across the sheets.

"Oh my god, what is… What is this??" I use the tongs and pick up a pair of flattened underwear, which remained in that shape when I picked them up. "Oh my god, you _wore_ these!! Oh, God, no!!"

Max laughed at me as I threw them in his hamper in the corner of his room.

"That's probably the first time I used that. Ever." He stated proudly.

"Ugh…" I picked up a lacy black piece and threw it in the basket. "Gross…"

"Babe, you never know, one of these gitches might be yours. Did you put yours back on before you left?"

I blush, remembering crossing my arms and walking very awkwardly because I wasn't wearing any undergarments on the way back home. Oh god.

"Shut up." I say finally, and he laughs.

"We need some fucking air freshener in here." I mutter, holding my nose. "Does Jude have any?"

Max shrugs and hops away. He comes back with a bottle. "From their bathroom. Strawberries."

I grab the bottle out of his hands and start spraying everything.

"That dosent make it clean, you know."

"I know." I say, spraying the bed and holding the tongs. "It just makes me tolerant to this… ugh… horrible smell…"

He laughs again. "What happens if I push you?"

I stare at him. "Don't." I say sternly.

He shrugs. "Fine, fine."

He walks up behind me, and I glare at him. "Do _not_ push me on this bed."

He holds up his hands innocently.

I turn back around and start furiously spraying a certain pair of blue plaid boxers that are lying in the middle of the bed.

And then he pushes me.

I scream so loudly, I think that Jude must have stopped drawing for a moment.

"MORON!!" I scream, and then run out of the bedroom and beg Jude to use his shower.

**see.the.sunny.skies.**

Max is waiting for me in my room when I get out of the shower. I scream a bit when I notice him and my towel slips… fortunately I caught it just in time.

"What are you doing in here??" I hiss.

"You still have a room to clean, sugar." He smiled.

I looked at him, my hair, wet and stringy, falling on my shoulders.

I walk past him and tie my towel up. I grab my hair brush and pull it back into a ponytail.

"You should wear your hair down more often, it looks hot."

I roll my eyes. "Its more comfortable for me to wear it up."

"Is it more comfortable to wear no makeup, or a ton of it?"

"Well, no makeup, but…"

"Is it more comfortable to put on running shoes or those tight formal ones?"

"The formal ones have their ups…"

"Is it more comfortable to wear granny panties or that purple lace you wore at the gig?"

"Perv." I push him away and grab my clothes out of my drawer. "Now, if you don't mind, I need to get changed."

"I don't mind at all."

"Ha, ha. Get out." I push him out to the hall and lock the door before changing into jeans and a t-shirt.

**goo.goo.gjoob.**

Max's room was getting neater in the next hour without him watching me. I sang quietly to myself as I tossed clothing after clothing into the bin.

"Now today I find.. you have changed your mind… treat me like you did the night before." I sang, spraying everything that happened to smell like… Max.

I stripped down the bed. The only thing left on it was a smelly old mattress. His pillows were both tossed into the laundry basket and all the clothes on the floor were towering on top of them.

I stared at the room, all the clothes gone. It was still a mess. But I could see tiny pieces of the floor here and there. There was still food and dishes all over the floor. And magazines. Ugh.

The floor was wooden. I would have thought it would be carpet, thinking of how bad the room still smelled.

My hands were on my hips and I felt proud of my progress in just under an hour. The laundry bin was behind me. I was using the… out of sight, out of mind technique, at least until I could get to the Laundromat.

"Looking good!!" Max yelled at the top of his lungs, and I was startled, and fell back into the pile of dirty clothes. I screamed again and pushed past Max to use Jude's shower… again.

**take.a.good.look.**

I was taking an orange juice break when Max walked in, in some clean clothes.

"You look nice." I comment, looking at his clean jeans and a shirt without sweatstains or food spilled on it.

"What? What was that? Did Lizzie just compliment me? Hell freezes over! A monkey writes Hamlet!"

My smile disappears. "My name is Elizabeth." I said coldly.

"Whatever. Elizabeth, you coming to Sadie's gig tonight?" I looked over at the door where Jude and Lucy were necking in the hall.

"Na, I think I'll get a head start on cleaning your room." I didn't realize that he thought I was joking until later.

"Suit yourself." He pulled on a jacket and walked outside with Jude and Lucy following close behind.

I shrugged and walked back in his room.

**its.been.a.long.long.long.time…**

I think it was about 12:30 AM when Max came home.

I was still cleaning his room, spraying everything. The door burst open and I looked at Max, who stared at me like I was the last person he wanted to see.

He had lipstick marks all over his face, and his shirt was wrinkled… He was so un-clean. It was only then when I realized that there was a girl hanging off of him.

Oh, gross!

She didn't notice me, and turned off the light. Because there was no other light on, I was left to find my way out in the dark.

She tore away from him and went somewhere else in the room. Me and Max still had no clue where we were.

I heard Max step on the air freshener and slip. He cursed when he fell on the ground, and I cursed when I tripped over him and fell on the floor.

My legs were sprawled across Max's chest, and I guess he thought I was his one-night-stander, because he stroked my legs like he was ready to… err… nevermind.

I screamed and kicked my leg away, hitting Max in the chin and hitting his head at the end of the dirty laundry hamper. Clothes fell from the tower and onto him, and he swore some more when he smelt how fowl they were.

I stood up, and slipped on a piece of pizza that was sitting on the ground, and directly on top of Max. We listened to eachother breathe for a moment before I realized that there was about fifteen pairs of underwear next to his face.

I screamed again and stood up, fleeing the room. He stood up too, and tried to make his way over to the bed, but ran right into the wall, turning on the light.

He held his head, and looked at the girl sitting on his bed.

"Okay." He said, breathlessly, and then shut the door before turning off the light again.

I sat on the couch, looking at my feet. I was thinking about everything that had happened, the one moment where we had listened to eachother breathe. I remembered when I used to do that with John…

I closed my eyes and tried to erase him out of my mind. I was over him. I was over him.

But I couldn't stop thinking about him.

The girl that Max was with pushed open the door and stormed out of the apartment, and a tired Max walked out, a hand on his neck.

"You threw out the condoms… in the drawer, didn't you?"

I looked at his tired face. "They expired, like, a year ago."

"Yeah, I know." He walked over to the couch I was sitting on and plopped himself down beside me.

We must have been sitting there for a long time, because soon enough I felt his head fall on my shoulder. I looked at him curiously, wondering what he was doing, but he was just asleep.

His hair was dirty, but I didn't seem to mind, because I soon fell asleep beside him.


	5. Chapter 5

I woke up and looked around

I woke up and looked around. I was still sitting in the living room, with Max's head on my shoulder. I stood up awkwardly, and put his head on the arm of the couch. He didn't wake up.

I walked into the kitchen and looked in the cupboard. There was still nothing but Captain Crunch there. I took box after box out of the cupboard and looked at the counter, now littered with cereal boxes.

There wasn't anything left in the cupboard but pancake mix, baking soda, and chocolate chips, so I decided that _I_ would make the pancakes today.

I was frying them quietly, respecting the rule of 'no noise before 2:00' when Max walked in, rubbing his eyes.

"Morning." I say politely.

"Guh." He replies flatly. I take the cleanest plate there and put two pancakes on it. I put it on the table where Max sits down. Without using the forks that I laid out on the table, he decides to eat it with his hands.

"Can't you be civil for once?" I complain, putting Jude and Lucy's plates next to his.

He doesn't reply. I have a feeling that he wanted his 'special ingredient.'

Jude walks out of his room with a button up shirt undone and sits next to his best friend.

"Morning." He says politely. I smile.

"Good morning, Jude." I say sweetly.

I get my own plate and sit down at the table made for four.

I grab a fork and start cutting it into tiny pieces with the edge. Max watches.

"You need a job, Lizzie?" He asks his mouth full of pancakes.

"Elizabeth," I say, annoyed. "And yeah, I need a job."

"I'm going to get my cabbie job back." He continues, his mouth still stuffed. "Wanna come?"

I raise my eyebrows. "What are you going to do, drive me off a cliff or something? Get me the crappiest job there?"

He grins. "You know it."

I roll my eyes. As harmful as it would seem for my reputation, I decide to go with him, because my weeks advance was coming faster than I wanted, and Max's room still wasn't clean.

When we were finished breakfast, I walked into my room to get some clothes. I picked out my smartest looking black blouse and black pants. I combed my rebellious hair back into a ponytail and looked at myself in the mirror. I smiled and walked out in the hall.

Max was cursing in his room, so I knocked lightly on the door.

"Come in." He said, in an annoyed tone.

"What—Oh my god, Max." I looked at the hamper, and all the clothes scattered across the floor. "What are you doing?"

"Looking for a clean shirt." He ripped through the dirty clothes and found a red shirt with a mustard stain on it. He frowned. "This is the best thing that I have."

I look at it. "You're going to wear that to an interview?"

He shrugs. "Well, yeah. I think so. Maybe. Unless I find something cleaner."

"I can get that out." I say about the stain, and he shakes the idea off.

"I've tried rinsing it."

"In _your_ sink, nothing can get clean, Max. Besides, I'm not going to use water."

I walk into the kitchen and get the package of baking soda from the cupboard. I sprinkle a bit over the stain, and then scrub at it with wet fingers.

I rinse it off again, and hand it to Max. "Here you go." I smile as he searches for the mustard stain.

"Huh." He says, without a 'thank you.' Then he walks into his room to get changed.

I sighed shortly, and then waited for him to come out of his room.

**give.me.love.give.me.love.**

I was sitting in the passenger's seat when he drove to the interview. I thought I was going to have a great interview and get the job. That isn't what happened.

We drove down the road, and Max looked tired. I wondered if he was hung over. Or maybe he just didn't want to be in the same car as me.

Whatever it was, he wasn't paying much attention to the road, and I watched as another car moved a tiny bit over on the wrong side.

"Max…" I said quietly, but his mind was somewhere else. The car came closer, and it was going to hit my side. "Max!!"

He looked at me. "What?"

I looked at the car coming towards us. "Stop the car!!" I shrieked as loud as I could, and he woke up. His foot slammed on the floor, and me and Max were both flung forward, not wearing our seatbelts.

"Jesus!" Max yelled, looking at the car coming up to my side. The driver was looking at the mirror, focused on a girl in the back necking with some other guy. He was going to hit Max's car.

"Fuck." He whispered under his breath, and tried to start his car. "Come on, not now…" He whispered, and the car sputtered, but refused to move. Then he screamed. "HEY!! HEY, STOP YOUR CAR!!" He waved his arms, but the driver was out of it. As the car came closer, it sped up. I stared at it, paralyzed. I was reliving the moment that happened years before.

Max looked at me, but I was out of it too. "Elizabeth?" He asked. "Elizabeth!! You need to move!! _Now!_"

I remember his arms wrapped around me and throwing me on his lap, _almost_ safe from the collision.

"_We're going to prove them all wrong, Elizabeth. We'll run away."_

"_Where would we run to?"_

"_New York, Elizabeth."_

I was dreaming. I dreamt of John and his dark hair and his darker eyes. I dreamt that we were driving, faster then the limit, getting away from everyone, everyone who said that we could never be together.

"_You can be a doctor, like you always wanted to. And I'll play my guitar. It'll be perfect."_

Those were the last words he said before the car in front of us crashed and John died.


	6. Chapter 6

When I woke up, I was lying at the side of a ditch

When I woke up, I was lying at the side of a ditch. I looked around me. My legs were tangled up in the dirt, my waist on a rather large rock… which was beginning to get uncomfortable, and my back resting on something warmer, something softer.

I look up and see the sky. I stand up and see that Max had placed my back on his lap.

"EW!" I scream, and he wakes up from what must have been a good dream.

"What?"

"Don't…" I start brushing off my pants. "Touch me."

He raises an eyebrow. "Has it occurred to you that we were just in a fucking _car crash?_"

"Ugh." I complain. "I don't care." I look at my arm, and see a small cut, probably from the windshield. I look over at Max. "Shit." I mumble.

"Sit down." He says, annoyed, but trying to be smooth.

"I don't want to."

"Where else could you possibly go, Lizzie?"

"_Elizabeth!"_ I said annoyed. "God, this is _not_ kindergarten, Max."

Max grunts and lies back down in the ditch.

I walk over to the car, and then see that it's pretty bashed up. "Wow." I say quietly. My blood was spilled across the seat.

"Where did the others go?"

"Other ditch." He mumbled.

I went on my tiptoes and saw the two guys and a girl sitting in a ditch, not saying anything. The girl was crying.

"Where's the car?"

"Toed." He said, sticking a piece of grass in between his teeth.

I watch the girl cry and look at the car. I notice that blood was on the pavement.

"They think you're dead." Max says finally, and I spin around.

"What?"

"Mm."

Well, there was a lot of blood, but I was far from dead. I bled a lot, anyways. I used to pick a rose every Tuesday, you know, to de-stress or something. But the thorns always cut my fingers and Loretta would always make fun of me. Tuesday's became 'stupid bloody Tuesdays', and eventually, the rose thing was dropped. How is that supposed to help me de-stress anyways?

I look over at them again. They looked_ terribly_ stressed.

"I'm going over to say something." I tell Max, and he spits out his grass.

"Can I come?"

"Ew." I respond shortly, and he sits back down.

I walk across the street, and look at all the blood on the street. It was something I was used to, from being a doctor for 5 years, but I guess that they weren't used to it, and they didn't know that I couldn't die from losing that much.

"Hi." I say, and smile a bit. They all look up, and their mouths drop. I sit on the edge of the road. "My name is Elizabeth."

They didn't say anything back.

"I was the girl in the crash…"

"We thought you were dead." The girl spat, tears still pouring down her face.

"I thought that I killed you."

I gave them a sympathetic look, and then smiled. "Don't worry, I'm far from dying. I tell you, every single day when I have to clean up his," I point at Max. "Mess, I feel more like dying than now."

They laugh a bit, so I smile.

"What are your names?"

"Val." The girl says.

"Rich." The guy who was necking Val says.

"James." The jealous guy says.

"Are you two married?" The girl asked me, after a short pause.

I laugh. Then I realize she isn't joking. "Wait… are you serious?"

She shrugged. "Well, you look like you're married. Getting in a car and driving on this road."

"He was just taking a short cut." I say faintly.

"You do look really good for each other." James points out.

"We aren't together." I say strongly. "I have no feelings for him, whatsoever… Other than… disgust, maybe."

"Well, do you have a boyfriend?" Val asks.

I don't answer.

"No?" She smiles.

I look at all of them, and my stomach starts feeling sick. I was remembering John, and I hated it. Tears filled my eyes, and I stormed back over to the ditch. Max was standing now, next to his car.

I took my good arm, and with all the force I could, I slapped him across the face.

"I hate you!!" I scream at the top of my lungs. "And I wish I never met you!!"

Max looked up, confused. "Elizabeth, I don't understand…"

I held my head in my hands and thought about John and his carefreeness, but carefulness at the same time. He was my only love. I didn't want it to happen, but tears slid out from under my eyelids. I sniffed and tried to stop the tears from spilling, but I couldn't stop thinking about John…

Promising myself to never love another.

"_Elizabeth, I… I know, that you know how I was. You know, with other women. But I love you." He took my hand in his. "You're the only one. Ever. Forever."_

_I smiled at his commitment, and then looked into his eyes. "I bet you say that to other girls. How can I think that you love with your heart, when you could so easily be loving with your eyes?"_

_This was hard to answer to. Because if he said the wrong thing, it could come across to me as him calling me not beautiful, which wasn't something I wanted to hear, but I set it up to happen. To test him._

"_Surely I have never loved before I saw you." He said, quoting Shakespeare loosely. He was trying to be romantic, but he just couldn't remember the exact lines. "I'll love you for the rest of my life."_

_I smiled. "I love you." I whispered, kissing him lightly on the lips._

"_No vow?" He questioned, obviously being serious but half joking at the same time. _

"_Of course. John, I love you…" I giggled, and he smiled. "Forever." I stopped smiling and looked in his eyes. "And I'll love you until the rest of my life. I'll stand by your side forever. Either that, or die alone. I love you, John."_

Thinking about that always made me cry. _Die alone._ How would I know that John would leave me so soon?

I wasn't mad at Max because he was messy, or dirty, or occasionally obnoxious and offensive… I was mad because I _liked _him.

When I told Loretta that I didn't want a relationship with any male, she had said this, and only this, 'You're either going to die alone, or become a homeless lesbian.'

And unfortunately, that didn't make me feel any better.

And why should I like Max? He's a pig. He doesn't deserve to be an acquaintance of me. He doesn't deserve to see me cry. He's done nothing for me.

"Elizabeth?" I heard his soft voice behind me. I wiped my eyes quickly and sniffed before turning around.

"Listen, Max, I'm sorry… I just…"

"Please don't apologize…" Max said as quietly as he could. "I can be an ass, sometimes, and… I don't know, we've gotten off on the wrong start, haven't we?"

"A one night stand." I agreed. He laughed, and I laughed a little too, sniffing again.

He sighed and looked away. "Jude's proposing to Lucy soon." He said finally, and I looked over.

"That's great." I comment, not really wanting to think about love.

"Pretty soon they're going to move out… start a family, you know?"

I nod.

He shrugged. "The party of the 60's had to end sometime, I guess, I just… I don't know, I never thought that Jude would… _leave._"

"Well, he didn't say that he's going to leave, did he? He might stay."

"He's been looking at new apartments for months, but thanks." Max sighed. "I mean, Pru's gone… my baby sister, my best friend… Other then Sadie and Jojo, you're going to be the only one there."

I look at the ground, feeling slightly, or _very_ awkward. I couldn't really say anything. Except, 'Ew, why the hell are you opening up to me?'… But I don't think that would make him, or me feel any better.

"I'm sorry." I say awkwardly, still not looking at him.

He sighed. "I'm not trying to get you to apologize, Elizabeth… I…" He shrugged. "I wanna be friends."

We stood there for a long time.

"Elizabeth?"

I looked up from the blood on the road that I was staring at.

He looked at me, kind of expecting an answer soon.

"Sure." I say finally, my voice kind of weak. I was giving in to him. "I just need to do one more thing… before we're friends, okay?"

He shrugged again. "Sure?"

I walked over to him. We were close now. He looked in my eyes and I looked in his. I could kind of smell his cologne, which was very cheap and tacky. For a few seconds we looked at eachohter like this, and then I swung back my foot…

and kicked him in the shin as hard as I could.

He doubled over in pain. "Jesus!! You crazy bitch!"

Yeah.

Friends.

_**Thank you for all of my reliable and new reviewers, I love you all!! This chapter is dedicated very seriously to John Lennon. We love you, RIP. **_


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